Page 70 of Debtor’s Daughter

Chapter 20

Dear Lord and Lady Montagu,

St Anne’s Church, Soho, will host the wedding of Miss Connie Merrivale and Mr Cecil Thompson on November 16th at 11 am, with the reception to be held at Ridgeley House, Belgravia, to which you are cordially invited.

―Excerpt from a letter from Miss Connie Merrivale to The Most Hon’ble Marquess and Marchioness of Montagu.

13th November 1850, Berwick Street, Soho, London.

If Larkin had been under any illusion as to the state of his physiognomy, Maggie’s shriek of alarm on finding him waiting for her in her parlour the next day put them to rest.

“Oh dear, is it that bad?” he asked ruefully, watching the colour leave her face.

“What happened?” she demanded, rushing to him and touching gentle fingers to his face, the worry in her eyes warming his heart. “Does it hurt? Who did this to you? Oh, if I get my hands on them—”

Larkin didn’t doubt she’d wreak some vengeance if she could; she was far braver and more capable than even she realised.

“Hush, love. It’s all right. You should have seen the other fellow!” he added with a laugh.

“How can you joke about it?” she exclaimed crossly. “How did this happen?”

“You’ve asked me that twice now but still not given me the chance to explain. Why don’t we sit down, and I shall explain?”

Hardly soothed but slightly mollified, Maggie allowed him to guide her to the sofa, where he sat close to her and took her hands in his.

“Now, love,” he began, seeing her cheeks turn pink with pleasure at the intimate address. He smiled and squeezed her hands. “Before I tell you the whole story, I have a present for you.”

Her brow wrinkled in confusion at the sudden switch in topic. “A present?”

“Yes. Are you ready?”

Maggie let out a little huff, clearly believing it was a ruse to distract her from his injuries. “Very well.”

Larkin grinned, reached into his coat pocket and withdrew the small bundle of documents he had received in the post earlier that morning with a congratulatory note from Leo. He handed it to Maggie, who gazed down at it in confusion.

“What is this?” she asked, her fair eyebrows drawn together.

“Well, that’s the thing with packages and parcels, darling. You must open them to discover what’s inside.”

Sending him a look of sheer exasperation, she tugged on the ribbon holding the documents together and unfolded them. She stared down at the title page on the deed to her beloved manor for such a long time, he suspected she did not dare to believe what she was seeing. Then her breath caught, and she turned to him, eyes wide, her hand pressed to her heart.

“What—? What does it mean?”

“You know what it is, darling, and yes, it’s quite authentic. Those are the deeds to your estate. The manor is yours again, Maggie.”

He watched her, his heart swelling with too many emotions as her eyes filled with tears and her throat worked. “H-How? I-I don’t understand.”

“I won it back last night, for you, love,” he said simply. “If you hadn’t realised it yet, I’d do anything for you, Maggie, and whilst I might not quite manage the moon and stars, I hoped this might be a good start.”

Maggie looked down again at the deeds, and he saw a fat tear plop onto the vellum. She gave a choked laugh and wiped it away, before gazing at him in wonder.

“You won it back,” she said unsteadily, disbelieving. “For me?”

He nodded. “For you and for Gideon, and Caro too. Because I love you, Maggie, and I wanted you to have your home back. To know that you had options, and you were under no obligation to say yes.”

She stilled, staring at him. “Say yes to what?” she asked, her breathing growing fast and erratic.

“To the question I’m about to ask you,” he said with a smile. He got to his knees beside her and raised one hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles tenderly, his heart beating harder than he could ever remember as he put it on the line once more. He did not wish to think of what he might feel if she rejected him, but he would not hold back, risking it all with his eyes wide open this time. “My darling Magdelina, I finally know what it is I want, and who it is I wish to share the rest of my life with. If you will have me, I would be the happiest man alive if you would consent to be my wife, if you would allow me to be a father to Gideon, and to live our days in the beautiful home that means so much to you both.”